asamsky2348447's Passions

asamsky2348447's Bio

I have the version with titanium rails but the body is the same (and the weight isn't too far off).

You can see why this saddle had been around for so long - it's broad enough to be comfortable without being bulky, it has nice firm padding, very slight give through the body, and of course it looks great.

I replaced a minimalist Specialized Toupe' with this saddle and I found them surprisingly similar, though the Regal is slightly more comfortable.

I wouldn't hesitate to use this saddle in competition.

One proviso: the sides of this saddle come down and completely cover the rails, so it is NOT compatible with a side-adjust seatpost designed for ultra-modern saddles with exposed rails. You need a post that adjusts from the bottom.

The description says these gloves have "Strategically- placed Comfort Bridge gel pads in the palm" - man, they must be STRATEGICALLY placed because I can't find them anywhere. As far as I can tell the palm is nothing but thin leather.

That said, the Pittards leather is awesome - grippy, breathable, conforms to your hand, stays dry. The gloves are made in the USA, which is nice, and they're well designed in general. There's a little elastic gore at the base of the thumb to keep them snug but not uncomfortably tight, and the pull-off tab on the ring finger works well and doesn't add noticeable bulk.

These are nice light, breathable gloves. They're easy on and off, plenty of grip on the palm, and they're comfortable when you're wearing them (though if you don't get the fit right you might find them troublesome - they're all elastic, so there's no velcro adjustment tab).

The palms are grippy and breathable and only very lightly padded. If you want a big, stiff gel padded glove steer clear. I got used to these in a few days and I can't say the minimal padding made all that much of a difference in handlebar feel. The lack of thick pads does make the glove more flexible and breathable.

Mine have held up well after three or four months of almost daily use. No fraying and the colors are still nice and bright. They did fine in the washing machine on cold. A better deal at Bonktown prices.

Nobody really NEEDS a carbon fiber bottle cage, but if you want one you can't go wrong with these. These are low-profile, nice-looking, and they hold the bottle tight but not too tight. They're not the absolute lightest carbon cage out there, but the difference is only a few grams.

One caveat: if you have a band-clamp front derailleur you probably won't be able to use one of these cages on your downtube. The back of the cage (the part that the bolts go through) is one solid piece, so the band clamp hits it in the middle. Unless you used some huge washers or something it just won't fit over the band clamp (unless I'm missing something obvious here).

You have to love merino wool - it's like wearing a space suit, keeps you warm when it's cold and keeps you cool when it's hot. This is a very nice, full-zip merino wool jersey with a close (but not painted-on) fit, the right number of pockets (including a wee little zip pocket for keys or an MP3 player), and great performance. The wool is very soft and luxurious, but the whole thing seems solidly constructed and although I haven't worn it too many times it seems like it will last. Nice understated color and design, too, so you don't like like a walking billboard. Runs true to size. I've tried merino wool jerseys from Swobo and Sugoi as well - they're all very good, and this one is definitely neck and neck with the famous Swobos. I happened to find it on Bonktown at a good discount, which made it even sweeter.